Hunters ready for first wolf hunts in Wis., Minn.

Thursday

Oct 11, 2012 at 12:45 PM

Associated Press

For years, vacationers and farmers across northern Wisconsin and Minnesota have heard the eerie howl of the gray wolf and fretted the creatures were lurking around their cabins and pastures, eying up Fido or Bessie. The tables are about to turn: Both states plan to launch their first organized wolf hunts in the coming weeks.

The hunts won’t be anything on the scale of the two states’ beloved whitetail deer hunts, when hundreds of thousands of hunters rearrange work and school schedules and fan out across the woods. Both states have limited the number of wolves hunters can kill and capped the number of permits, creating an exclusive club of hunters who will get what could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take on the wiliest of predators.

Anticipation has reached a fever pitch, but most hunters will come face-to-face with a sobering fact within a few hours of venturing into the woods — wolves aren’t deer or ducks. They’re intelligent, mobile creatures with an unmatched sense of smell. The states could be hard-pressed to meet their kill goals.

“Everybody’s gung-ho to go kill a wolf but nobody realizes how hard it’s going to be,” said Bud Martin, a Montana-based hunting guide who shot a wolf two years ago in Idaho. “I’ll bet you a steak dinner your quota won’t be met.”

Farmers in all three states have long complained about wolves wreaking havoc on their livestock. Wildlife officials estimate there are now 700 wolves in Michigan and 850 in Wisconsin. About 3,000 roam Minnesota, the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states.

Michigan’s hunt legislation still is pending but Wisconsin’s season is set to open Oct. 15. Minnesota’s season is on track to begin Nov. 3. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a bid by hunt opponents to block the season.

Both states will allow hunters to bait, shoot and trap wolves. Wisconsin also will allow night hunting and the use of dogs. Wildlife officials have kept the hunts small, though, as they feel their way along; Wisconsin set its quota at 116 animals and awarded only 1,160 permits through a lottery. Minnesota set its limit at 400 animals and awarded 6,000 permits.